I do not own Naruto.
Man! I am loving these long reviews. Woot woot! Also, this chapter is eh. I tried.
The Ichiraku Family and New Friends
Immigration was on its way to be an organized orchestration, the mountain was approved for future census-based construction (because the census was finally complete) and by now Raiden and Sasuke were probably deep into the heart of Ame's underworld. And so today's workload had practically done itself and there was nothing to occupy him but a pretty little ramen chef who'd recently developed a penchant for occupying space in his thoughts. All this without trying, really. And now she occupied his lunches too.
Whatever misguided merit he had earned with her in the past returned despite his momentary inability to control his lust.
Today's lunch was a picnic and they had company for a change. It was Friday afternoon and Ayame was holding a paper ball, chased by Soota. Kakashi watched from under the large oak tree at the back of the Academy, an ageless swing its counterpart. Soota was a two year old boy with bleach blonde hair and wide green eyes and too many freckles to count. He was like Mirai and had boundless supplies of energy. And incredible chakra.
His young mother, painfully younger than Ayame and even Sakura, stood to the side with a gentle smile, Soota's sippy cup and cornflakes in hand. She was very fair and had long black hair, similar to Hinata. Haruhi was her name and she also watched Soota and Ayame dart from one end of the yard to the other. Sometimes she would play with them but like Kakashi she was content observing the two hyperactive humans, thoroughly entertained with the banter between a twenty three year old and a two year old.
Ayame now behaved as before, with long glances and accidental touches. This time around he did not pretend as if he did not notice her peculiar inclinations towards him. He would allow himself to return her sporadic, short embraces. The times were not frequent but she liked to hug him since he had initiated the first real hug weeks ago. He would meet her shy glances curiously and not pretend to see pass them anymore. And now she would look at him—without anger.
And he understood why she could not before. Despite his past inappropriate behavior, her romantic feelings had not changed. And if she would have looked at him when he thought she should have, he would have known. She had not wanted that. He understood that now too.
Kakashi chuckled to himself when Soota fell on his face and both young women hurried to his side, worried. He jumped back up, completely unharmed, and took Ayame's closeness as an opportunity to steal the paper ball—sneaky brat. Ayame chased after him, pretending a pace as if the small child was too fast. He smiled at her antics.
The day after Kakashi made amends with Ayame, he took her to Haruhi-san's place of employment. It was a small daycare not too far from Ichiraku's. During New Years, Teuchi had vouched for Haruhi and the daycare owners did not hesitate to take the girl in, sans legal papers. Ichiraku Teuchi was a well-respected artisan, esteemed by all and people did not usually deny him favors.
Kakashi brought Ayame to the daycare, because she had complained no one was home the day before, and introduced the two young women. Haruhi had been pleased to finally meet Ayame and Ayame had been equally pleased to meet the younger woman. She had also been surprised Haruhi had a two year old at the age of sixteen. The boy had taken to Ayame quickly, as most everybody did. Weeks later, Ayame was invested wholeheartedly in the younger woman and the boy. She was constantly spending time with them when she could, helping the newly registered citizens of Konoha. He did not mind it. Ayame was incredible with others. She would be a good Daishukujo.
Kakashi had never answered her question about Raiden's whereabouts, and to her credit she did not ask again after the hug, but he supposed befriending Haruhi was enough of an answer for her. The mute sixteen year old mother was enough of an explanation.
Kakashi blinked when Soota began to cry because Ayame needed some rest and had told him so. She tried to calm the boy with words but he would not stop. Haruhi frowned, walked over and picked the boy up. She brought him to a corner of the yard and signed with her hands. Ayame looked over in curiosity as Kakashi did too. The boy understood his mother's gestures, of course. It seemed a silent reprimand was more efficient than a verbal one.
Ayame walked over to Kakashi and plopped down next to him. "I'm so thirsty!" she cried.
Kakashi silently handed her bottled water. She opened it and took large gulps. Ayame did not work today and she had cooked today's lunch, much to the disappointment of administration who was set on spoiling her. Today she wore an overall dress with a long sleeved shirt underneath. It was March but it was still cold for those who could not use chakra to warm themselves and she had on white stockings. She used them often, he noticed. There were no braids today and he was glad. Sometimes she looked too young when her hair was in braids but today it was up in a high ponytail. It was still so thick it fell like a dark waterfall on her back.
"Where are the pickles, pickles—ah! Here!" Ayame mumbled to herself as she dug through the lunch basket. She took out a pickle jar and happily opened it, munching away. She offered him one, not even looking over, completely enraptured and overtaken by her cravings. Kakashi smirked and took the donation from her fingers.
Ayame had not brought up the extent of his sobriety the night he took her and it confused him. She was not mad like he thought she would be, or should be. But she was as before the Uzumaki wedding—flirting, doe-eyed. It was confusing.
He knew one of the major reasons she predominately felt guilt was because she thought he had been very drunk. That she had taken advantage of him. But now that she knew it was not so maybe she did not feel as though she wronged him anymore. He was glad for it but he did not know where that left him. He felt the same as before. But she did not.
Regardless of the new development, she was still two months pregnant and the wedding was just around the corner.
Ayame stretched, leaving the bridal boutique. Those women poked and prodded parts of her body she did not know could be measured. How many kimonos had they fitted her in? Ayame had lost count. Apparently the Daishukujo went through three kimono changes…
The wedding was so close (two weeks!) and she did not know much about it. Her uncles' wives thought it strange but she assured them it was being taken care of. It was supposed to be a very formal event. As per Kakashi, the Fire Daimyo's people and Konoha elders were planning it—and then he had shrugged, unsure of the details himself.
It was supposed to be a surprise and although Ayame always thought she would plan her own wedding, it was out of her hands. And it seemed it was out of Kakashi's too. The Hokage had to please a lot of people in certain circumstances and it seemed this was one of them.
But at least she could decorate her own house. The house was close to the Tower but was not finished and she wondered if two more weeks were enough time. She was sure everyone would figure something out.
Ayame turned a busy street corner and had to pause, seeing a familiar face.
Menrui Yuu stepped out of an alleyway, probably disposing of expired goods. He wore the burgundy cap and apron his family's bakery was known for. Having always been a stalky young man, he filled the uniform out nicely. His light hair was tied neatly into a short ponytail at the nap of his neck. That was new.
She had already stopped walking when he for whatever reason glanced left at her. His brown eyes blinked in surprise.
"Aya?"
Ayame tried to smile. "Hey, Yuu. How are you?" Her heart raced. She had not seen him in a long time—maybe a year? She had not really thought of him often—especially not with all that was happening.
Yuu smiled and revealed familiar pearly white teeth. "I'm really good. How's living on your own?"
Ayame's polite smile lessened. "Oh—normal. How did you know that?"
Yuu shrugged, rolling his eyes. "The grapevine."
"Konoha."
"Konoha."
They chuckled a bit, a little awkward at the automatic reminiscence. Whenever crazy things would happen, they used to both look at one another and respond the village name to whoever said it first in sarcasm.
Yuu stepped closer, putting his hands behind his back, messing with the strings of his apron. It was a bad habit he used to do when he was nervous. She did not blame him. She was a little nervous too, talking with him so casually when they had not parted well. But it had been so long, and the past was the past.
"How have you been?" He asked sincerely and she remembered the boy she went to school with. It was a long time ago now.
She forced her smile to widen. "I've been busy." It was not a lie.
He shifted weight from one leg to another. She copied him, jittery. "Yeah it's...it's funny you say that, Aya. I heard the craziest thing!"
"Yea?" She wanted to match his energetic ability to pretend that it was okay to talk like this, but frankly it was a little exhausting. She thought of Kakashi. He was able to play it cool in any awkward situation—he was like the master of evading all things awkward through sheer sarcasm alone. Ayame was not cool enough to even attempt to copy the Rokudaime.
Yuu laughed a bit and then fiddled with his apron some more. He looked up, above her, not able to look her in the face. "Yeah, uh, I heard the Hokage was engaged with a civilian." And then his gaze fell on her. "And I heard it was you—well, the Ramen Girl but that's you...crazy, right?"
She had not thought of this. Why did it feel strange having Yuu ask that out loud? He would forever be the boy who broke her heart years ago. She had cried for months and months and her father had not known what to do. Even Yumi had been kind to her during that difficult time. And now Yuu was asking her about Kakashi. It was just weird—like he had no right knowing her business. But clearly, becoming the Daishukujo was everybody's business.
"Aya?"
"I...I have to go," she mumbled and began to leave. He made to follow her. Seeing it, she stopped really quick, forcing him to stop so he would not bump into her. "What are you doing?" She asked, suddenly out of breath.
What did he think he was doing?
His hand was stretched out, as if he was going to grab her. Their gazes went from his outstretched hand to one another. He looked just as shocked as she that he had reached for her. That he had made to grab her, to stop her for—for what?
He stepped back, confusion in his eyes and she could not believe it. He was married to Tomoe the cobblers daughter and he was going to what—chase after her? She frowned and slowly turned around, keeping her eyes on his hands until the last possible second. And then she hurried away.
She was supposed to meet Haruhi and Soota-chin to watch a movie. Lunch had been so fun earlier, sans Soota's tantrum, she and Haruhi had agreed on a movie. It was Friday after all! Ayame shrugged Yuu's weird behavior off. The movie would be awesome!
Kakashi stretched, leaving Tsunade's house. The woman did not ask him but rather told him he and Ayame would be going on a trip—a honeymoon. The Godaime did not take no for an answer and all he could manage to do was reduce three weeks into two.
Since he would be absent from his duties she would act as the active Hokage again, until he returned.
He was not sure how Ayame would take it. She was very friendly with him lately, like before, but the insinuations of a honeymoon compared to those of sporadic hugging and hand holding were not the same.
They sat on the park swings behind her apartment complex.
"A honeymoon?" Her face was already pinker than Sakura's hair and one would think she had never been touched before.
"Yes. I tried to dissuade the Godaime but couldn't. I'm sorry to put you in an awkward position."
Ayame shook her head. He was always apologizing. "Awkward, huh? I mean, it would be strange if we didn't take one, right? People will talk."
"That is true."
She crossed her hands on her lap and stopped swinging. They had just finished eating a light dinner she cooked up when Yugao told her earlier that Kakashi was to come. She had been at the theater with her new friends and had told the ANBU to let him know to come with an appetite. She had thought it was just another friendly visit, and it was, but this was information that shouldn't have surprised her but did.
Of course they would be expected to have a honeymoon. This was the Hokage—the cornerstone of their village. The man with all the answers. Uzumaki Naruto's teacher—the famous Hatake Kakashi that had it all together. And she was just the Ramen Girl. How could she help him in any way lead a village? The most she could do was smile and play along with all the wedding stuff. Which she had obviously failed to do with Yuu earlier.
"You're so intimidating." She did not mean to say it out loud but there it was.
"Intimidating..."
He seemed surprised and it annoyed her a little bit. She decided to be honest. "You're Hokage, and before that you were Hatake Kakashi, and I have always been the Ramen Girl. People know it. I know it." Yuu knew it too that was why he had called it crazy—why he couldn't believe it. If Yuu had not wanted her years before, why would a village—why would Hatake Kakashi?
"That's perception, Ayame. You are more than your station."
"Are you more than your station?"
His eyes narrowed, pivoting his body more towards her on his swing, watching her carefully. "I'd like to think so, yes."
"But you're the Hokage!" How could anybody be more than that?
"Yes, I am."
"And when I'm next to you, I'm just the Ramen Girl." Her tone was not very frustrated but resigned. "I know...I know I'm more than that. I'm a chef. A daughter. A friend. But for some reason, when I'm next to you, all I see is the Ramen Girl. That's what I am." Everyone had always called her that the day she started copying her father in the kitchen. Yumi had been smart to move far away with a man that had nothing to do with low income businesses.
"Ayame..."
"That's what the village sees. And they deserve more." She carefully rose from the swing and went inside. The village deserved more than a Ramen Girl who couldn't keep it in her pants. He could not deny her that reality, no matter what he said.
Ayame folded socks, solemn. Having discussed her frustrations out loud somehow made them more real—especially with the wedding so close. Two weeks! And then there was that get-together with the family, so they could formerly meet Kakashi…
Ayame looked over at him. Earlier when she walked away, Kakashi had wordlessly followed her. Now he made himself comfortable next to her. He was not upset that she had gotten distressed. He never really got upset, except that one day in the office when she had sort of been crazy and demanded him to tell her where Raiden was.
Today had been their first argument in a while, although this time it was different. She had not yelled and he followed after her—he was doing that a lot and she did not mind.
Kakashi paired a black stocking with a white one. She smiled lamely at his antics. "You don't have to help me with my laundry."
"I should practice the domestic lifestyle since I'm stuck with you."
She laughed and threw one of her dresses at his face. She missed of course which only made both of them chuckle. She tried to throw another but he pulled the basket away from her reach which caused her to have another fit of laughter. After a few attempts of trying to grab it from him, and failing, she crossed her arms and pouted. He frowned and then pushed the laundry basket back to her. She beamed and threw a blouse at him. It also missed. She gapped at her misfortune—he was literally three feet away from her! He had to look away, shoulders shaking with suppressed amusement.
"I know you're laughing."
"What—no," he said but did not look at her, breathless.
"I know you are!" she said. He snorted but had the audacity to shake his head while still turned away from her. He was definitely laughing at her. Oh it was on.
Fifteen minutes and an explosion of clothes later, their laughter died down. They sat on the floor in her tiny living room and resumed folding. Her hair was askew and he had a sock in his. He grabbed one of the dresses she had thrown and placed it neatly back in the basket.
"The village does deserve more," he prompted suddenly.
Her smile faltered.
Kakashi's steady gaze met her cautious one. "Show them how much more you can be." He grabbed her hand, surprising her. He gently pried the socks she had been combining out of her hand, setting them aside. "If you're willing."
Ayame scooted closer to his reassuring presence, not quite thigh to thigh. She was listening.
"I won't always be able to, but I'll teach you some of the politics. Others will help."
Ayame chewed at her lip. "Others?"
"Would you feel more at ease with only one other?
"I think so."
Kakashi nodded. "I'll have it arranged by tomorrow." As if just getting the idea, he added, "I think I'll have Naruto attend the sessions, too." She squirmed, excited at the possibility. He smirked, thumb tracing lines on her palm. "You'd like that?"
"Yes," she breathed. "Thank you."
"There is one thing." He started carefully. "As the Daishukujo, Ichiraku's can no longer take precedence over the village. Can you understand that?"
"Otousan..."
"Teuchi is a wise man."
"I'll...talk with him."
He could already see the uncertainty formulating in her expression. She slowly pulled her hand out of his and brought it to her chest. At least she did not scoot away. "You can still help."
"I know." She wasn't looking at him and grabbed the blouse from earlier. She fiddled with its embroidered edges.
"You don't have to do this."
"I want to. I want to learn and be better. I guess this is just a minor setback." She tried to copy one of his reassuring eye crinkles and he smiled. He reached over and ruffled her hair. She blushed and took it upon herself to make their thighs touch. He waited for it and then she leaned closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. He lifted his arms a bit to give her proper access. She pressed her nose into his chest.
She was incredible with others. He knew she was enough as she was for Konoha but she did not see it that way. If she learned some new things about the village, about the politics, then maybe she would feel more confident. He did not know if it would work but he did not want her to think she was not good enough. He could not stand around and let her feel that way.
"You'll do great."
But she didn't do very great. Ayame was not the sharpest weapon in a shinobi's pouch.
She sat side by side with Naruto on a large wooden table, surrounded by ceiling high shelves teaming with scrolls, books, and papers. Apparently, the Tower had a private library. It was her third lesson that week and Kakashi had yet to be the one to instruct her. Nara Shikamaru was her teacher instead, the young man who had accompanied her when she had been introduced to the elders.
Ayame straightened her pink jell pen next to her pinker notebook. The pink fuzz ball at the tip ruffled at the movement. Shikamaru had been talking for a while now and her eyes must have glazed over ten minutes into the lesson. Did Kakashi have to learn all this when he became Hokage? Or given how much everybody spoke about how smart the man was, maybe he already knew the information?
Thirty minutes in, Naruto opted for throwing tiny paper balls when Shikamaru's back was towards them. Ayame was really trying not to think about what the guys were up to at Ichiraku's but failed. Had the shop burned down? She had barely worked the past few days. The wedding preparations and these new lessons took a lot of her time. And sometimes she would still feel sick. Later today was the family thing too—there was so much going on!
When Naruto threw another ball and actually landed in his hair, Shikamaru spun around. "Really, Naruto?"
She tried not to laugh. She used her notebook to cover her face.
"Ayame-nechan thinks it's funny."
She gasped behind the notebook and told him to shut it, only moving her mouth. Haruhi would be proud. Naruto laughed. Shikamaru sighed and ignored them, turning back to the blackboard.
"Therefore, the Fire Daimyo…"
"Psst! Psst!"
Ayame looked over, wide eyed at Naruto. He was going to get them in trouble! Although, Shikamaru seemed like he really didn't care what they did.
"I'm so happy I have someone to learn all this stuff with. Apparently sensei thought it would be good to prepare like a billion years before actually passing the mantle."
She nodded, glancing at Shikamaru.
"Your wedding is so close!"
She nodded again as Naruto's huge grin nearly blinded her. And then his grin suddenly turned into a frown and she found her mouth mirroring his. She never wanted Naruto to be sad.
"Sasuke won't be there, apparently."
That caught her attention. "He won't?" It was not the most conventional marriage but it was still a wedding and Kakashi's students would be expected there—all three of them. Unfortunately, Kakashi said Raiden would not be able to attend either. He did not even know when he would return. At least Haruhi and Soota-chin would be there in his place.
Naruto's pout deepened and he rested his chin in his hand. "I think so. He's been gone since last month."
"Is he still…on a journey?" She remembered Naruto complaining about it before in passing, missing the Uchiha greatly.
Naruto exhaled softly, eyes looking past her. "This is more like a mission, but I guess he's still on that journey in his heart."
Ayame reached over and rubbed Naruto's back. "He'll come back."
Naruto beamed at her love tap and whispered loudly, "You're the best, nechan!"
Shikamaru spun around again. "You don't know how to whisper, Naruto. You might as well talk normally!"
Kakashi sat in the living room of the Ichiraku household, watching through double glass doors as dozens of little, bundled up boys ran around in a spacious backyard. All their fathers, the Ichiraku men, were barbecuing and taking turns illustrating long, knee slapping jokes. The women swarmed in the kitchen, making side dishes and desserts. Ayame was in there somewhere.
Teuchi turned a page of the book he was reading. He sat on the love sofa across from him. "Kakashi, came in so soon?" He asked without looking up from his reading.
"I'm afraid the men in your family are too masculine for me."
Teuchi laughed and looked at him. "They're very excited Ayame is marrying our Hokage."
"So they kept telling me." It was like a family of Narutos. He'd known Ayame had spunk because of Teuchi but he did not know the characteristic extended to the entire family.
"What do you think?"
"You have a big family." And there were mostly men. The women that were there were the men's wives who only bore sons and then there was Ayame and her sister, Yumi. Offhandedly, he added, "It's nice."
Teuchi nodded, putting his book to the side. "We're all close. Ayame and Yumi are my brothers' only nieces so they can be particularly protective."
"They said that too."
"Ever since Yuu, well, of course we've been a bit paranoid. But you're the Hokage. They're all very open to it."
"Yuu?" Kakashi did not know a Yuu.
Teuchi curiously examined him, as if Kakashi not knowing who Yuu was strange. "Menrui Yuu, Ayame's old sweetheart—well, I'm sorry, Kakashi. I may have said too much. I thought you would know."
Kakashi shrugged, playing it cool. "Oh that guy." He did not know who "that guy" was but Kakashi did not have to pretend a tone of dislike. It came out automatically. Ayame's old sweetheart, Teuchi had said.
Teuchi nodded, smiling. "But now she has you and I'm glad. You are a good man." Apparently everyone was set on telling him that.
They continued casual conversation and shared a few more laughs. When Ayame and Kakashi had arrived earlier, the family bombarded them with questions until Teuchi shooed them all away to their designated barbecuing positions. Ayame was probably suffering the women's curiosity in the kitchen.
Thinking of her, Ayame walked into the living room, exhausted. She was working hard in those lessons with Shikamaru, even if she did not think it. And now she was here with a rambunctious family. She almost seemed placid next to some of the Ichiraku clan members. Almost. Kakashi was very aware of how un-placid Ayame could be. She was emotional, temperamental, and corny. But she was honest and brave and always tried to do what was right, even if the results would not be in her favor.
She made her way to where Kakashi was and sat down. Their thighs touched and she even leaned her arm into his. Ever since he acknowledged her feelings and embraced her she had been more as she once was—the glances, the touches—the flirting. He was not good at returning her advances but he never stopped her. And they had not really argued and he was glad for it.
Teuchi chuckled at his daughter's behavior.
"Yumi-nechan is the being so urgh."
"Use your big girl words, Ayame."
"Otousan, you know how nechan is."
It also did not take Kakashi long to know how Yumi was. She may have looked and dressed like Ayame, but they were not the same. Not for the first time he wondered what Ayame had told her sister the night Naruto dragged him over to her apartment. He never asked but she had been very upset that night. Despite all the available resources, there were things he simply did not know about Ayame—a jealous sister, an old sweetheart. He was not the only one with a past full of life altering events. It did not matter if she was a civilian and he a shinobi. Hardship and temptation did not discriminate.
Ayame leaned more into his arm and he did not say anything—just felt her.
"Ayame!" Yumi shouted from the kitchen.
"Nooo," she moaned and he held his laughter. "Doesn't she know I cook for a living? I want to stay here with otousan."
Teuchi raised a brow. "You're sitting with the Hokage."
"I like him too," she mumbled.
She was doing that a lot also. She would casually tell him she liked him since he had embraced her. He did not hate it but it always surprised him. She was so open about it. And all it had taken to trigger this side of her was a promise that he would try to look at her the way she looked at him. He was not sure what he had done much differently since then except let her touch him but they had not had any big disagreements since hug.
He enjoyed her this way, happy. She was not like him. She felt all her emotions and had to express them in a love language of words and touch.
"I'm glad you like him," Teuchi chuckled. "You're marrying the man after all. In a few days, too."
Ayame blushed and blinked up at Kakashi, resting her chin on his shoulder. She gave him a shy smile and he returned it easily. She really did have big eyes.
Teuchi laughed lightly and stood. "I'll leave you two alone. I should check on my brothers and the steaks." The older man mumbled something about "young love" and stepped outside, making sure to close the glass doors behind him.
Ayame giggled beside him, lifting her chin away but not removing herself from his side. "Thank you for coming to our family thing."
Kakashi shrugged. "It was only right I meet them."
She smiled. "That's true. But I'm sure the stacks of paperwork don't do themselves in the Tower. You're the Hokage."
"I am?" His eyes widened. She laughed and nudged his arm with hers. "Oh right. I am."
"You're a mess," she said.
Kakashi chuckled, glad she was not miserable anymore. He had not done much of what Kurenai advised but he could do things like this. For one day Shikamaru and Shizune would not die by themselves at the Tower. They had been happy for him to take a day off before the wedding. They had said it would be practice for the honeymoon (he did not want to think too much about this.)
"Ayame!" Yumi called again from the kitchen and when Ayame did not get up her sister came into the living room.
She saw how Ayame was leaning against him. It was as if she forgot the Hokage and her sister were engaged, Kakashi noted. Yumi smiled tightly and passed Kakashi a quick bow. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama but if I could just have a moment with my sister—if that's alright with you."
Kakashi felt Ayame stiffen next to her and he found it curious. He gave Yumi a polite smile, the sides of his eyes familiarly creasing. "I was just about to step out with her. We are waiting on some friends." It was not a lie.
Yumi opened her mouth and closed it. And then she nodded. With another bow, she returned to the kitchen. Ayame sighed.
"You seem close with her."
She made a face. "The last time we talked she was, well, Yumi."
"Hmm." She may have been referring to the night with Naruto and Hinata.
"Do you have…siblings?" She asked the question cautiously, like she did not want to pry.
He shook his head. "I don't."
Ayame paused, thoughtful. "What about a clan? Usually the village knows all about our Hokages' honorable families, like the Senju and Sarutobi clans."
Kakashi thought about it. "I believe my father's ancestors came from the Land of Lightning. But he was an orphan when he came to the village."
Her bottom lip frowned. "An orphan?"
"There was a lot of war back then."
Ayame's expression fell, touching her flat belly. "Yeah. Even growing up, crazy things were always happening in Konoha." One of those crazy things had killed her mother. A thing with nine tails and eyes possessed with the sharingan.
Kakashi moved his hand to rest on her knee. "You will be a good mother."
He did not know why he said it but he believed it. She was very good with her sister's sons and all her younger cousins and she had been nothing if not excellent with Soota.
Ayame blushed, eyes searching the living room. "You too," she whispered, "—a great father."
With them both properly embarrassed and silent, his hand still there on her knee, she decided to change the topic. "Haruhi-san and Soota-chin should be here any minute," she said, standing up. The warmth her body brought left. She offered a hand and he took it, but he did not really use it for leverage as he stood. His eye caught a familiar mark on the inside of her wrist.
When he did not let go she looked to see where their hands were joined. The tiny keloid looked like a white meteor. He could not help but graze it with the calloused pad of his thumb. It could have easily been an injury from her career as a chef but he knew different.
"Pein did this?"
She blushed lightly, looking at the point of interest. "Oh yeah. I got a piece of plywood stuck in there really good when he shot that ninja missile thing at Choji-san. It looks small but it bled a lot." He remembered how it bled but he did not say it. He had woken up from death with his head on her lap, blood from her wrist having rubbed onto his cheek and down his collarbone.
"You remember that day?" she asked, looking at him with those owl eyes and an intense curiosity. "Crazy, right?"
"Yeah," he simply said and he chuckled when she visibly deflated at his short answer.
"Hm!" She turned her head away with a playful huff, on to him.
He smiled, oddly content to simply be near her. She was such…good company.
She pulled on his hand, examining the pink scar tissues on his fingers. Apparently, it was her turn to examine his scars. His hands were still stiff from overusing chidori. Ever since he lost the sharingan it was not the same. It was not as difficult as before, when he was a chuunin, but he could feel the difference.
Hoping to distract her, he wrapped his hand around her curious one. "Let's go check if those two are on their way."
He was going to marry her. Two years ago, he refused to entertain this, and only out of shame were they now engaged. But none of that changed the fact that they would spend the rest of their lives together, that she would be his, sans pregnancy, sans kage title.
She said he was a good man and it was not that Kakashi thought himself to be particularly bad—not even those he had done life with thought he was bad. But Ayame had never done life with him. She had always been around, yes, at the edge of his lifetime—a passing soul who lived in his village and sometimes served him ramen. She did not know about his past or his mistakes or anything of that nature. She had mostly been a stranger all his life.
And now she wasn't.
All this time you here and I did not see you—
The light of love was magnified in your gaze
Yet I was so blind to it.
But today I feel you very deep inside of me.
-Marc Anthony, translation of 'Muy Dentro De Mi'